It's All Your Fault
by Rolling-Chan
Summary: Rin Kagamine has never been one to accept the blame for anything. If she develops feelings for someone, it's not her fault. If her confession is overheard, it's not her fault. Instead all the blame is placed onto a certain boy with dirty blond hair. One-shot.


Author's Note: Because the world needs more RinXNero fanfics. Need I say more?

Disclaimer: I own not Vocaloid.

-Ray

* * *

><p>Rin could have died on the spot that's how certain she was her heart had stopped. What had started out as innocent chatter quickly evolved into the most embarrassing moment of her life. There was no doubt about it now: Rin was going to have to change her name and move to another country. Mexico maybe, but she spoke very little Spanish. Singapore might be a more preferable. The further away she could get the better.<p>

Naturally, it all started with a dare.

Her best friend Miku and their friends Miki and Iroha sat under the bleachers as they secretly watched the boys soccer team. It wasn't exactly perverted, but more like observation. Similar to how people on safaris would hide out and watch gorillas in their natural habitat, as Rin stated. Anything was okay as long as you could give a scientific reason for it. It's a proven fact.

"Which one do you like?" Miki whispered to Miku.

"The blond one with the dreamy eyes," Miku replied just as quietly as she pretended to swoon. "You?"

"Hard to say," Miki casually replied as if trying to find the best of the flock. "The one in the yellow uniform."

"They're all in yellow uniforms," Rin pointed out.

"That's how I make it hard for you to tell which one I like," Miki winked. "How about you, Rin?"

Looking out to the field, Rin pursed her lips and said, "I don't like any of them."

"That's a big fat lie and you know it," Miku stated. "With a selection like this there's bound to be at least one you like. Even Iroha has her eye on someone. Ain't that right, Iro?"

"The red head," Iroha confirmed with a nod before realizing too late that there was only one red head on the field. The brunette quickly covered her mouth and began blushing madly as her friends broke out into a fit of giggles.

"CUL's older brother?" Miki questioned as she tried to calm herself down. "You like _him_?"

"His name is LUC, and I can like him if I want to," Iroha pouted.

"Geez, Iro," Miki continued to giggle, "you have an interesting taste in guys."

"At least my crush looks like a boy," Iroha crossed her arms. "If you and Piko ever did get together the both of you would look like a lesbian couple."

That simultaneously shut Miki up and sent Miku and Rin into a hysteria of laughing fits. "H-h-how did you know?" Miki asked, her face turning a shade darker than her red orange hair. No wonder her only hint was the yellow uniform: Piko was the only boy on the team with silver hair and mismatched eyes.

"It's kinda hard to miss when you're always making googly eyes at him in the hall every day," Iroha answered before mimicking the expression Miki must make whenever she saw Piko. This only made Miku and Rin laugh harder, causing them to have to lean on each other for support.

"Sh-shut up," Miki said as she attempted to hide her face behind her book bag.

"It's okay, Miks," Miku reassured the red head by patting her on the shoulder. "We're only going to tease you for this every day for the rest of your life." Miki did not find the comment comforting, this made apparent as she slouched and rubbed her face deeper into her bag.

"I'll tell ya a little secret if it'll make you feel better," Miku smiled, successfully getting Miki to stop covering her tomatoed face. "The blond with the dreamy eyes, that's Len," Miku admitted.

It took all three of Miku's companions a few minutes to understand what the bluette said. "Wait wait wait," Rin waved her hands. "There's no way you're talking about Len Kagamine, right? My twin brother with no muscle to speak of and in desperate need of a haircut?"

"Last I checked, that's Len," Miku shrugged.

Rin could only gap at her best friend. Naturally she was completely aware of her twin's infatuation with Miku and teased him about it constantly, but she never would have imagined Miku actually returned Len's feelings. Rin was going to have a lot of fun playing match maker this coming Valentine's Day.

"Your turn, Rin," Miku said.

"Wait, what?" Rin furrowed her brows. There was no way Miku was asking Rin what she thought Miku was asking her, right?

"Tell us who you like," Miku explained. "Iroha slipped up on hers, Miki didn't have a choice, and I admitted to liking Len to make them feel better. Now you have to tell us who you like."

"Nuh-uh," Rin shook her head. "Miku, you _chose_ to tell us that you like my brother. Don't I, too, have the right as an American to decide whether or not to tell you who I have a crush on? There _is_ a freedom of privacy, isn't there?"

"Just shut up and tell us who you like," Miku said point blank. "You know who we like, so it's only fair you return the favor."

"Nope."

"Rin Kagamine," Miku said sternly, "I dare you to tell us who's lucky enough to be the object of your affection." Grinning wickedly, Miku added, "You wouldn't say no on a dare, would you?"

There it was. The stupid dare that was the cause of Rin's trouble. If only she was the kind of person who shamelessly refused to fall through on a dare.

As she saw no point in ignoring the challenge, Rin stood to her feet and firmly placed her hands on her hips. Rin beamed with pride as she began to tell the girls her secret. "I wasn't lying when I said I don't like any of the boys on the soccer team. Well, he was, but he was cut after he broke his leg during a game a few months back."

"You don't mean-" Miku's eyebrows shot right up, unbelieving to hear who Rin was suggesting she had a crush on.

"That's right, my blue haired friend," Rin smirked. It was with a swollen chest Rin confidently proclaimed, "I have a crush on Nero Akita!"

"Really?" a voice asked.

"Yes really," Rin closed her eyes and nodded her head.

"Then why don't you tell Nero to his face?"

"Like that's gonna happen," Rin snorted before she realized something obvious. None of her female friends spoke with such a deep voice.

Opening her eyes, Rin saw the interesting state of her friends. Iroha was blushing and refused to make eye contact with the blonde. Miki was trying, and failing, to surpass a laugh. Miku just looked flat out embarrassed for Rin. God knew the expression the person behind her was wearing.

Ever so slowly, Rin spun around one eighty degrees and meet sharp, lively golden eyes. A lax grin made up half his face, and his shaggy dark blond hair was messed up as if he had forgotten to brush it that morning. How he managed to squat down and hide out in the bleachers when he was practically the human giraffe, Rin didn't know, but there was no denying that Nero Akita had just heard her untimely confession.

With a goofy smile on his face, Nero greeted the growing blush on her face with a "Hey Rinny."

"N-N-Nero?!" Rin shouted. "Wha-wha-wha-?"

"What am I doing here?" Nero finished. "I heard laughing, and since it sounded so much like you and your friends I thought I would see what was so funny." Reaching out to ruffle Rin's shoulder length blonde hair, Nero said, "I came just in time to hear you announce that you have a crush on me."

Gibberish and inaudible syllables sounded out of Rin's trembling lips. Such a shame she had to discover right then that it's actually impossible to die from embarrassment. Death would have been her best friend if it chose then to greet her with open arms, but apparently the universe wasn't done laughing at Rin yet so the blonde teen was left to live.

"GAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!" Rin screamed as she pushed Nero out of the way and bolted from under bleachers.

The push threw Nero of balance and resulted in his head slamming against one of the stands. He stared at Rin's retreating figure, his eyes wide with confusion. He cast his glance at the rest of the girls, all of whom looked mortified for their little friend, and asked, "Did I say something wrong?"

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

If it weren't for the water getting cut off while the pipes were getting checked that day Rin would have drowned herself in the bath tub. Instead she opted to lock herself in her room and hide in her bed under the covers. _Maybe I'll suffocate if I'm lucky_ Rin thought as her face continued to grow hotter._ Why won't the event stop playing itself in my mind?_ Rin didn't want to remember right now, but apparently her brain was enjoying repeats.

"Rin, open up," the voice of her twin brother called.

"Come back in a week or two that way I'll be dead from dehydration," Rin said, hoping she was loud and clear enough for Len to understand. "And don't bother giving me a proper funeral. Just unceremoniously toss my body into the ocean."

"I didn't know you knew a word as big as 'uncermoniously'," Len apparently felt the need to say. "Open the stupid door, Rin."

"No."

"You can't hide out in there forever."

"Doesn't mean I can't try."

A heavy sigh. "Did you at least stick around long enough to have Nero tell you whether he accepted or rejected your feelings?"

"The answer was clear enough," Rin said as she felt Nero's hand ruffling her hair as if it were happening again.

Nero ruffled her hair. Seriously, she might have been his kid sister. For all Rin knew Nero was thinking "Aww, little Rinny has a crush on me. How cute." Talk about embarrassing.

It didn't help he was so freaking tall, either. Rin was 5'4, a fine height for a girl not yet sixteen. Then there was Nero. He used to be so short all the other kids bullied him and called him a dwarf, but then the summer before freshman year Nero shot up like a weed and had hit the six foot mark. Rin went from three inches taller than him to a whole head and then some shorter in less than three months. Nero could effortlessly pass himself off as a college student, and he was only older than Rin by a month!

He was still a twig though, for it appeared his weight had yet to get the memo on his body's height update. He wasn't done growing yet, and doctors suspected his adult height to be roughly 6'4 to 6'6. Until the boy grew into himself he was going to be one gangly thing.

"Rin, come on out," Len persisted.

"Make a time machine that allows me to go back in time and kill myself before I admit to liking Nero and I'll be out in two seconds flat," Rin insisted.

"You're impossible."

"Well how about you accidentally confess to Miku and then we'll see how you feel," Rin said as she came out from under the covers long enough to throw a stuffed animal at the door.

"Rin-"

"Leave me alone!" she exclaimed as she again hide in her pile of blankets. Len seemed to have listened as instead of a reply what Rin heard was retreating footsteps. _Good, now I can die miserably in solitude_ Rin huffed as she turned onto her side that faced away from the door.

She had known Nero since elementary school. He and Miku were neighbors, and after the twins started hanging out with the duo it was only natural Rin found a best friend in Miku while Len found a best friend in Nero. They were in the fifth grade when they met, but it wasn't until the ending of the eight grade when Nero and his family spent the summer with distant relatives that Rin discovered she had a crush on the boy.

Days without him, even when there wasn't a cloud in the sky, weren't as sunny. Board games weren't as fun when Nero wasn't there to overreact whenever someone swapped places on the board with him or when he was sent to jail. Videogames were simply boring to Rin when her only competition wasn't around to challenge her. The longer they were apart the more Rin ached to see him. She may have not been a fan of hugs, but she would have given anything just to wrap her arms around her dwarf friend and make him swear to never leave her again or else she would break his neck. Rin even had it set in her heart to confess her newfound feelings to Nero the day he was back and she got to see him.

Only when Nero returned he was different.

Miku's and her families were invited over for dinner the day the Akitas returned. Neru, Nero's older sister and a little snot if there ever was one, opened the door for the twins, scowled, and shouted up the stairs for Nero to entertain his friends. Miku, who had already arrived, came from the other room and joined the blonde twins and expressed worry as to why Nero hadn't come down yet. As if timed, it was then a tall boy walked into the room.

The moment the boy made eye contact with Rin he approached her with the largest smile plastered to his face and gave the blonde a big bear hug. Rin went completely stiff as she felt herself being covered by the boy's body. "I missed you so much," a voice Rin did not recognize said.

Rin was too tense to struggle, and it seemed the boy caught on for he broke the hug and looked at Rin's face, his lips pressed together in apparent worry. You could see the heartbreak in those piercing gold eyes when Nero saw Rin and realized she was looking at him as if he was a total stranger. "Hey Rin," he tried to say, "it's me. Nero."

"S-sorry," Rin stuttered. "I-I didn't recognize you." Who could hold it against Rin that she didn't immediately recognize the boy? His once lemon yellow hair had significantly darkened to a dirtier shade, his voice was deeper and not as squeaky as it once was, and you can't forget to mention how much taller he was now.

"Of course you didn't," Nero whispered so quietly Rin was certain he didn't intend for her to hear. With what appeared to be a forced smile, Nero pat Rin on the head and said louder, "It's probably because I'm so much taller than you now."

The next few months were awkward. Rin wanted to see her old friend, but he didn't look like the Nero she remembered. "It's because you didn't see him the whole time," Len had told Rin when she voiced her discomfort at Nero's new appearance. "Had you seen him every day during his growth spurt you probably wouldn't have noticed any difference until you saw an older picture or something."

"You don't seem to doubt that idea," Rin had mumbled.

"Because one day I'm going to go through the same thing Nero did and none of us are going to catch on until later," Len insisted. "It's only puberty, Rin. That boy is still the Nero you know so well."

How Miku and Len got used to Nero shortly afterwards surprised Rin. It wasn't until the two of them broke out into an argument - over which superhero was better, of all things - in the cafeteria and unintentionally started a food fight that things between them go back to normal. While they were forced to clean up the mess the two teens began to tease each other about embarrassing things both of them had done in the past.

_"Do you remember?"_

_"I like to pretend that never happened!"_

_"Why would you do that? It's comedy gold."_

_"Because you weren't the one who was embarrassed! I seriously can't believe you would remember something like that."_

_"Well of course I remember, you ding dong. What else am I going to blackmail you with in the future?"_

The teens kept at it the entire time. What was supposed to be a punishment ended up being the most fun Rin had in months. As they were cleared for their crime Nero smiled at Rin like he used to and said, "I'm glad I have my friend back."

Rin was glad she had her friend back, too.

Only now she screwed that up by confessing to the girls that she had a crush on Nero while the same boy happened to be there to overhear. It's not that her feelings for him ever went away, but now Rin didn't know what to expect if she shared them. By the way he would pat her on the head and ruffle her hair and call her "Rinny" she was pretty certain he in no way thought of her as a potential girlfriend. Especially since she could so easily pass for his little sister. Stupid blonde hair. Why couldn't one of them have a different hair color?

Rin didn't know she was asleep until the buzzing of her phone dragged her back into reality. Checking her new messages, Rin's heart sank when she saw they were all from Nero.

_Can we talk?_

_Hello?_

_Are you there?_

_Please answer me._

She had slept through receiving them, but a new one rang up while her cell was still in front of her face.

_Rin, please don't ignore me. I really want to talk to you, but I can't if you won't respond to me._

With her fingers typing faster than she was thinking, Rin stared at her phone in horror as she realized what she had sent him.

_I can't talk. You'll laugh at me._

The reply was almost instant.

_I won't laugh, Rin. I promise I won't._

Pursing her lips, Rin knew she had to face Nero sooner or later so she might as well get it over with. _Should I call you?_

_No, I want to see you._

_Before school tomorrow then?_

_Now._ Before Rin could ask what he meant another message came in. _I'm on the roof._

The roof. The roof of Rin's home was her and Nero's special place, though they never intended for it to be. Len was so scared of heights he never once tried to climb onto the roof. Miku didn't mind the height but often stayed with Len so he wouldn't feel left out. The roof was where Rin and Nero would hide out when they wanted to talk without fear of Rin's parents overhearing. It was where they could be honest about what they really felt even when they themselves weren't certain what they were feeling. No wonder Nero had chosen the roof as a place for them to talk.

It didn't bother Rin that her hair was a mess and her clothes were wrinkled thanks to her spending half the day hidden in bed. All she did was slip on a hoodie to help keep warm in the chilly weather. She had no interest in looking nice anyway, even if it would have for the boy she accidentally confessed to.

Opening her window, Rin crawled out of her second story room and carefully walked on the roof. She crouched low to keep from slipping and crawled to the chimney. There Nero was, waiting for her as if he was afraid she wouldn't show.

Rin didn't say anything as she approached him. All the blonde did was sit by Nero's side, avoid eye contact, and wait for him to go first. Time went by with nothing but the wind making noise, and Rin had almost told Nero that for someone who really wanted to talk he had nothing to say.

"In case you want to know," Nero started, finally breaking the silence, "I came in the same time Miku dared you to tell her and the others who you liked. Neither of them knew I was there until after you confessed, nobody was trying to set you up or anything." The thought never crossed Rin's mind, but she didn't say so. She didn't really know what to say. "I-is it true?" Nero asked with uncertainty after Rin failed to respond to his previous statement. "Do you really like me?"

It was the moment of truth. All Rin had to do was either answer a confirming "yes" or a simple "no." Should she admit to having feelings for the boy, or should she deny them and claim she only said what she did so her friends would leave her alone? Confessions, Rin now knew, were only easy to say when the person you had the crush on wasn't around.

"It's all your fault," Rin mumbled.

Nero raised an eyebrow at the girl. "Pardon me?"

"It's all your fault!" Rin repeated as she sent a glare in his direction, her cerulean eyes as sharp as well taken care of daggers. "You're so kind and polite and just simply nice to everyone you meet that it's impossible enough already to dislike you, but you had to go the extra freaking mile and be such a charming and amazing friend. You don't ditch when I have a stupid plan that will undoubtedly land us in detention, you stand up for me when I need the back up, and you're always there for me when I'm feeling bad about myself and try to make me feel better. Why can't you just suck? Maybe then I wouldn't like you, but instead you had to be so wonderful that I couldn't prevent all these stupid fuzzy feelings from taking over. Yes, Nero Akita, I do like you. A lot, might I add. I like you a lot, and it's all your fault!"

With that Rin huffed and looked away from the stunned Nero's face. She began glaring at her bare feet as if it was also their fault Rin was in this predicament. Her face was burning and her mind was racing. That was definitely not what Rin had intended to say, but it was too late now. Unless it was possible to unsay something there was no way Nero could ever unhear her words.

"Rin," Nero smiled as he began to ruffle her hair. Rin was not amused.

"And stop patting me on the head!" Rin snapped as she swatted away the hand. "I'm not your kid sister, so cut it out."

"Wait, kid sister?" Nero questioned, a look of confusion on his face as he retreated his hand. "Rin, what ever gave you the impression that I think of you as a younger sibling?"

"I don't know," Rin began, "maybe it's how you usually pet me and say I'm 'so adorable.' Or maybe it has to do with how you're always watching over me like a concerned big brother."

"Rin," Nero repeated her name, "I don't think of you as a little sister. I honestly thought you didn't mind when I pat you on the head. Had I known better I promise you I would have stopped ruffling your hair a long time ago. And didn't it ever once cross your mind that I watch out for you because I care?"

"Doesn't make a difference," Rin snorted.

"Look at me," Nero ordered. Rin ignored him. "Dang it, Rin!" Nero hissed as he wrapped his fingers around Rin's chin and forced her to look at him. While she was recovering from having her head suddenly jerked to the side Nero stared into her surprised eyes and said, "You say this is all my fault, but really this is just as much as your fault as it is mine."

Rin opened her mouth to ask Nero what he meant, but he placed the index finger of his free hand over her lips.

"You are the most unique and wonderful person I have ever met," Nero began. "You don't let fear rule you, ever. You do your best to protect the people you care about, and you never hesitate to stand up for what you believe in, consequences be darned. Rin, you are the strongest and most determined human being I have ever met, even if you don't believe it yourself. You don't need anyone to fight your battles for you, and you're always there to lend a helping hand to anyone who needs it, regardless if they're a complete stranger.

"That's why this is your fault, too. I know I'm a bit affectionate towards you and am always looking out for you, but you must know it's only because . . . ," Nero trailed off, uncertainty about what he was going to say manifesting itself in his demeanor.

"Because . . . ?" Rin questioned through his finget, her eyes now widening at what Nero was telling her.

"Because . . ." Nero sighed. "Because I love you."

Rin's heart skipped a beat.

"That summer away from you was the worst summer I've ever had," Nero continued, moving his hands away from Rin's chin. "I thought about you every day, and I often felt sick because I missed you so much. As cool as it was to visit my mom's side of the family, I felt miserable being away from you. I . . . I guess you could say that was when I realize I had feelings for you."

With the expression Nero wore while sharing his secret with Rin it was as if she was seeing him for the first time. Normally the boy looked like a goofball the way he was always smiling like he had no reason in the world to care, but now one look at him and anybody could see how serious he was. His eyes failed to appear as lively as they normally did, and Rin didn't know it was possible for the corners of his lips to hang so low. She didn't like it. Rin wanted him to smile and joke around and ruffle her hair. She wanted him to be the Nero she loved again.

"The day before we left," Nero sighed as he decided his feet were more interesting to look at than Rin, "was when I noticed how much I changed during those three months. We've seen it before, of course. Leon, Luka, Gakupo - they each had drastic changes over a summer break, but never would I have thought I would fit into that category. I mean, who the hell grows a foot taller in the span of three months?"

Shaking his head, Nero said quietly, "I didn't know what to expect when I saw you, Len, and Miku again. I was afraid that, I don't know, that perhaps the three of you had already forgotten about me and didn't really care to have me around again. I wanted to ease my way back into our group, but the moment I saw you I completely lost control. I had to hug you, Rin. I _had_ to hold you close to me and let you know how much I missed you, but when you looked at me as if you have never seen me before . . ." Nero placed his head in his hands and heavily exhaled. "I will never forget the way you looked at me, or how heartbreaking it was to see you staring at me like that. How could I confess the feelings I discovered I had for you when you looked at me like that?"

Her hands trembling and her breath shaking, Rin grasped one of Nero's hands into her own. This caused him to look at her, but she refused to meet his eyes, instead choosing to study his hand as she used her thumb to trace tiny little circles on his palm. "I'm no good at comforting, something you should already know because whenever someone is upset it's you, not me, who tries to make them feel better," Rin slowly started, "but that doesn't mean I can't try."

Looking again into golden eyes, Rin said, "I really do hate the way I reacted when you came back. I was so excited to see you and tell you how much I missed you, but for some reason I let things get awkward between us. That was so stupid of me. It's not as if you came back a different person. You're still my Nero."

Nothing made Rin happier in that moment than when Nero's signature goofy grin returned. "I'm your Nero?" he asked.

"Yes, Dingbat," Rin answered, a smile tugging on her own lips. "I don't know how you did it, but somehow you managed to ensnare me in your magic spell and left me unable to stop thinking about you. You weren't the only one who was miserable the whole time you were gone, you know? All I wanted was for you to come back, and that's . . . that's when I realized how much I like you. If anything, my confession was long overdue."

"It's okay, so is mine," Nero replied as he used the hand Rin wasn't holding to tuck some of her loose blonde strands behind her ear. He then so carefully it was as if he was handling fine China wrapped the same hand around Rin's face and stroked the apple of her cheek. "I love you, Rin," Nero said quietly, his breath tickling Rin's skin.

"Even though I still look like a child?" Rin questioned.

"That doesn't matter to me," Nero insisted. "You're beautiful just the way you are, and no matter how much or how little you change you will still be breath takingly gorgeous. I love you for you and nothing else more."

"I love you too," Rin whispered, her eyes lighting up as her heart fluttered in her chest. She couldn't believe it was happening, and if everything was a dream she did not want to wake up. For the first time since the screwed up day started Rin was happy with how perfect everything seemed to be going.

Slowly and carefully, Nero leaned in closer to Rin so that their noses were touching. "Heads up," he said, "I'm going to kiss you now, but first I'll give you a chance to retreat if you don't want to kiss."

He hesitated as if he truly was expecting Rin to pull away, but the blonde girl stayed put. When Rin showed no interest in backing out of a kiss Nero closed the gap between them and mashed his lips against Rin's.

Rin reacted by allowing herself to fall deeper into the kiss. Nero tasted like cinnamon and sugar, which made Rin feel awful for not brushing her teeth since that morning. However, Nero didn't seem to care at all as he deepened the kiss.

The moment could only be described as being similar to finishing a puzzle that took hours to put together. It felt to Rin that her entire existence had lead up to this moment, and said boy would immediately say the same. The both of them couldn't believe they had went their entire lives up until this point never knowing how empty they were until they learned how much they loved each other. Without the other there was a piece missing, but together they were whole. A puzzle finally completed.

After the kiss broke, Rin leaned in closer to Nero and snuggled into his body. He responded by wrapping his arms around her tiny figure. "You know," he smiled, "you're ahead of them."

"Who?" Rin asked as she buried the side of her face into Nero's shoulder.

"Miku and the other two," Nero answered. "It may have been an accident, but you did confess to your crush. None of them can say the same, right?"

"I believe you have a point," she smiled. "I can probably rub it in their faces tomorrow now that I'm no longer embarrassed." It was then Rin thought of something she was amazed had not crossed her mind before now. "Why were you around the soccer field, anyway?" she asked.

"I was thinking about talking to coach about being put back on the team," Nero answered.

Rin almost twisted out of Nero's hold just so she could look him in the face. "He found you so replaceable that he cut you from the team the minute you broke your leg - scoring a goal for your team, I should add - and you want to start playing again?"

"Well, yeah," Nero said. "I kind of miss playing, and if you're going to be spying on everyone on the team I want to be there so I can at least pretend I'm the only one you're staring at."

Laughing, Rin responded, "If you are put back on the team you would be the only one worth paying attention to."

"All the more reason to try to get back on," Nero said as he held Rin closer to him. It was then Rin wanted to grow tall enough to stop feeling like a dwarf compared to Nero but remain short enough for him to always hold her like he was then. There was no comfort like snuggling into his warm body, and she was certain it wouldn't have been the same had Nero not grown so tall.

"Say, Rin?"

"Hmmm?"

"Does this mean you're my girlfriend now?"

Rin laughed. "Only if you're my boyfriend."

"Then it's official," Nero placed a kiss on the top of Rin's head. "I have the most amazing girlfriend ever."

"And I have the sweetest boyfriend in the history of the universe," Rin sighed with content. "Wait until the girls hear we're a couple now. That had ought motivate Miku into confessing to Len."

"And if not I will help you set them up," Nero promised.

Knowing she should return to her room, Rin said, "I guess I will see you tomorrow."

"I'll pick you up at eight and we can walk to school together if you like," Nero offered.

"We do that already," Rin playfully punched his rib cage. "You've been walking to school with Miku, Len, and me since the seventh grade."

"But this time we can hold hands." Rin could hear the huge smile on Nero's face.

"I would love that," Rin said. Turning around to face him, Rin grinned at her new boyfriend and said, "Thanks for being you. It's all your fault we're here, but for once I'm glad you're to blame."

"It's your fault too," Nero said as he pat Rin on the head before remembering how she felt about the action. Snapping his hand back, Nero mumbled his apology.

"Don't be sorry," Rin said. "As long as I'm the only person who gets their hair ruffled by you I don't care. It's a sign of affection, right?"

"It sure is," Nero replied as he ruffled Rin's hair again.

Leaning forward and wrapping her arms around the bony body, Rin gave Nero the hug she should have given him the day he returned from his summer vacation. "I love you," she whispered.

"I love you too," Nero responded as he returned the hug.

"And Nero?"

"Yeah?"

Breaking the hug, Rin smirked at Nero and said, "And stop trying to share the blame. You know I'm the kind of person who blames everyone but herself so stop arguing with me. Really, it's all your fault."

With a soft kiss on her lips, Nero replied, "All right, this is all my fault. Happy?"

A soft giggle made its way past Rin's lips. "Immensely."


End file.
